


it's days like this (that make the rest worthwhile)

by Nokura



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Loki, Betrayal, Brotherly Love, Fix-It, Fluff, Gen, loki just need hugs, they will work it out eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 09:04:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11399415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nokura/pseuds/Nokura
Summary: "Loki knew, the moment he stepped up onto the jagged cliff, that this plan could only go horribly, horribly wrong." When Loki is injured saving both Thor and Jane, Thor takes him to midgard to heal. After Malekith is defeated and the trickster god healed, Loki disappears. TDW Svartalfheim AU. mild Thor/Jane, Darcy/Loki friendshipOriginally published on FF.net, mildly abandoned, and now in the process of re-writing.





	1. dread

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> So this is a fic that I started right after the release of TDW, and then abandoned due to school work, and a waning interest in the fandom, among other reasons. But, with the release of the Ragnarok trailer, I've been getting back into the Thor fandom, and wanted to pick this story back up, because I had a lot of ideas for it, and really want to get them out. The first several chapters are currently under intense revision, and will be posted to AO3 and re-posted to FF.net as I finish them, after which I hope to do weekly updates with the rest of the story. If anyone is interested in reading the rest of the so far, the link to FF.net is https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10040145/1/it-s-days-like-this-that-make-the-rest-worthwhile, but keep in mind that the story is being severely edited, and a lot of things are going to change. 
> 
> All that said, please enjoy!

He had known, from the moment he stepped up onto the jagged cliff and saw Malekith watching them from below, head cocked as if somehow, inexplicably, he already  _ knew _ , that this plan could only go horribly, horribly wrong. He had known, and yet he did nothing to prevent the unavoidable outcome. He played his part according to plan, the friend, the brother, the betrayer, and all the while dread coiled in his gut, thick and brooding.

 He shoved Thor down the mountainside, and quickly followed after, boots sliding over debris, careful not to trip and ruin the perfect act they had put together. He heard the mortal woman scrambling down after them, calling out in fear for Thor, screaming insults at Loki. He took no joy in the contempt that she held for him, but rather felt it as a heavy weight around neck that he wished to be rid of, but could not dislodge. He was done with trickery and games, and false faces - where had they led him? Hated and shunned by all, a failure in the eyes of the realms, his mother dead, and by his hand. But he had made Thor a promise, ad so he would play out this last game, this last charade, if only for his brother’s sake. If only to redeem himself, just a little, in the eyes of the man who had been his closest companion for so many years. 

 They reached the bottom, and Loki swung his foot brutally into Thor's face when he tried to scramble to his feet, the crunch of bones sending a twinge through Loki’s stomach, and another through his now-sore foot. Thor was flung backwards, and in the moment it took for him to “regain his senses,” Loki prepared the illusion spell. As Thor reached out to draw Mjolnir to him, Loki swung down his knife, the flash of steel disguising the flash of magic, as he cast his spell upon Thor’s hand. Thor’s scream was convincing enough to give Loki pause, but he soldiered on, turning to face Jane behind him. She cried out as he advanced, and he was careful to keep his face the mask of a triumphant maniac, hiding the turmoil conjured up by the terror so clearly sprayed across her face. 

 With a yelp she was whipped around to face Malekith, Loki's dagger at her throat.

 "I am Loki, of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!" He managed not to stumble on the unfamiliar title, the word _Jotunheim_ chafing against his throat. He threw Jane to the ground, strengthening his mask as he heard her gasp at the sharp rocks cutting into her palms. With distaste, he continued to weave lies, swallowing down bile as he stared down the man - no the _beast_ \- who had killed his mother, and pretended to be his friend. He hid the small, sharp feeling of satisfaction as the Kursed confirmed his animosity towards the Aesir, relaying that he had been a prisoner in their dungeons. 

 And when Jane was lifted of the ground, arms spread wide and eyes glassy with things unseen, he did not let his mounting terror and dread show, but kept up a calm, cool, smugly pleased façade, waiting for his moment to strike.

The Aether pulled out of the mortal, flowing and swirling, somehow hard and fluid and sharp and smooth all at once, spinning and weaving, and absolutely, entrancingly beautiful. Jane crumpled to the ground, like a puppet cut from it’s strings. The Aether rose up, and hovered, hanging still in the air for just a moment...

 A moment was all they needed.

 At Thor's sharp "Now!" Loki turned, released the illusion on Thor's hand, then dove onto Jane’s prone form, guarding her from the impending explosion.He squinted against the brightness of Thor's lightning as he slammed it as hard as he could into the Aether. There was a burst of light and noise–

 And then there was silence, calm, still. For a moment, Loki felt his heart slow, hope rising. _Had it actually worked?_

 He and everyone else stood frozen, transfixed, the silence echoing around them.

  _Could it really have worked?_

 Slowly, the dread that had twisted into Loki’s gut loosened, and he breathed easy.

 And then the shards of the Aether began to rise.

 In an instant, the dread rushed back, twisting Loki’s stomach into hard knots of nausea, sending almost palpable pain shooting across his body.

  _It didn't work_. _._

 The Aether streamed together, whole, undamaged, and Loki fought the urge to be sick. It once again paused, hung still, before flowing into Malekith, who stood arms wide, welcoming and embracing it. And as the last glimmer of the Aether disappeared, absorbed into Malekith, he opened his glinting, silver eyes, and looked right at Loki.

 And the dread that had been gnawing at Loki manifested itself into a certainty.

  _It didn't work, and we're all going to die._

 Malekith's cool, disinterested gaze slid off Loki, and he turned towards his ship, casually tossing a black hole grenade behind him, as if it were a piece of litter into the waste bin. Loki quickly dived into Jane, shoving her out of the way. But the swirling drag caught him, and he was pulled back towards his certain, painful death.

Time seemed to freeze; his blood ran cold. He had thought he wished to die when he fell from the Bifrost, those two eons-long years ago, but now, faced with his imminent death, he knew he had been so, so wrong. He struggled, trying desperately to break free of the vice-like pull.

He met the eyes of the frail, weak mortal lying on the ground before him, and knew that every bit of the terror he felt was written a plain as could be across his face. He saw the same fear mirrored in Jane's eyes, his desperately calling out for help, and hers frantically staring back, helpless and terrified.

 For him.

 He froze, shocked, surprised, confused, and then the moment was broken as Thor slammed into him, knocking him free of the black hole's greedy fingers.

 Loki pulled himself to his feet, shaken and exhausted from one of the longest seconds in his life.

He locked eyes with Thor, and a moment of understanding passed between them. Thor flew off towards Malekith and the Kursed, and Loki shifted, nervously fingering his knife, as he shifted his focus to the dark elves surrounding him, lining up his first few spells.

 Let them attack first.

 They came at him, and he spun into action, elbows, fists, and knife flying; jabbing, slashing, stabbing, spells firing from his fingers. It was over in seconds, in a fluid motion he spun the last elf around, slit his throat, broke his neck, and let him drop to the side. He stood breathing for a moment, then looked to see how Thor was faring.

 Malekith and his ship were gone, and the Kursed was beating Thor into the ground. He turned to where the mortal lay on the ground.

 "Stay–"

 She wasn't there.

 No, the fool of a mortal was staggering towards Thor and the beast, one of the dark elves’ discarded spears clutched tight in her hand. Loki cursed and took off after her, stooping quickly to retrieve a pair of his knives, before breaking out into a sprint after her. 

 ”Jane!” he screamed, voice all but lost in the winds whipping around them. He could see a dust storm building in the distance, and his heart sank lower. The odd continued to stack against them, and he was seeing increasingly smaller chances of them escaping alive. Jane did not look back, did not stop, and so Loki hastened his pace, reaching her just as she raised the spear to strike at the unsuspecting Kursed’s back. The strike would not have succeeded, her hands too uncertain, her arms to weak and trembling, and Loki slammed into her, knocking her back and two the ground, the spear flying from her grasp and sticking upright in the sand.

Thor noticed them, and his eyes widened, and his lips parted to call out Jane’s name. The Kursed paused, turned, and took note of Jane on the ground, a few fet off, and Loki, directly behind him, bracing himself as he shifted the knives in his hands. A feral sort of smile lit the Kursed’s face, and he began to advance on Loki, who took a few hasty steps back, mind flicking through spells, trying desperately to come up with something he could do to defeat the menacing beast before him. 

 He drew a blank, and so with a terrified sort of resignedness, he shifted his stance, and struck out. He knew he was no match for the beast, he was too much brawn and fire, where Loki was quick wits and ice, but he fought on anyway. He could not beat the beast, but he could buy Thor and jane some time, time to get away, to escape with their lives still intact. 

 Thor, however, had never been one for smart thinking, and he rose up behind the Kursed, reaching his hand out to summon Mjolnir. Loki ducked and weaved and slashed out with his knives, hoping to keep the the Kursed distracted long enough for the hammer to come, but to no avail. The path of their battle had taken them by the spear, still sticking up from the sand, that Loki had knocked from Jane’s grasp, and with a fluid movement, the Kursed reached for it, spun, and drove the spear through the thunder god’s stomach. 

 Time seemed to slow. Mjolnir flew past its master and crashed into the sand, Thor’s face contorted with pain and shock, and Loki’s heart froze in his chest. But even as he screamed Thor’s name, a flash of light at the beast’s hip caught his attention, and he dove forward, deft fingers wrapping around the grenade, and pulling the pin to detonate it. He continued past the Kursed, catching thor as he began to fall, and dragging him away to where Jane still lay on the ground transfixed by horror. He spared no glance backwards, even as he heard the beast begin to scream. He reached Jane’s side, and lowered thor to the ground, scrabbling desperately at buckles and laces and he tried to prise off the leather and metal of Thor’s armor, and get to the wound beneath.

 “Oh my god. Oh my god is he going to be okay?” It was Jane, voice high and frantic, but Loki pushed it aside along with all of his surroundings, focusing his attention solely on the angry red wound he had uncovered. Gathering his last stores of flagging magic, Loki places his hands over the wound, ignoring the blood that ran thick and hot between his fingers, and _pushed_.

 He had never been one for healing magic, choosing instead to devote his art to trickery and deception, but now he poured everything he had into knitting back together the skin and muscle of Thor’s chest, working on instinct and blind desperation. But even as Thor’s flesh began to repair itself. Loki felt the touch of something else, something cold and creeping stealing through his brother’s body, and he cursed. He had felt the sting of poison on the dark elves’ weapons, but his magic had burned it away a soon as it tried to enter his system. Thor had no such protection, and the poison was beginning to run it’s course within him. The wound in Thor’s chest now as thoroughly healed as Loki could manage, he turned his attention to the poison, trying to burn it out within Thor’s body as he did wit in his own, but his magic was too feeble and worn to win such a battle on foreign ground, and with resignation, Loki realised what he had to do. His magic could not eradicate the poison from Thor’s body, but it might be able to burn it from Loki’s own, and so Loki began to pull the poison from Thor into himself, shivering slightly and it began to fill his veins with an agonising mixture of ice and fire. 

 “Loki, what are you doing?” Thor’s voice issued weakly from above Loki’s bowed head. 

 The poison was very quickly taking its hold, and Loki could barely find the strength to continue drawing it from Thor’s body, but still he managed to raise his head to smile at his brother. 

 “I am saving you, you fool.” 

 Thor’s eyes widened - he was not in tune with his magic as Loki was, but it still resided within his bones, and Loki knew that he could no doubt sense at least some of what was taking place. 

 “Loki,” he began, struggling to sit up. “No-”

 But Loki would have none of it, and with the last of his waning strength, he wrenched the remaining poison from Thor, and collapsed forward, gasping for air. 

 Thor, strength returned, was quick to lay his brother out on the sand so that he might breathe easier, worry lining his face as he ran his hands along Loki’s body, searching for injuries. 

 “Loki,” he repeated, his voice a low growl. “What did you _do?_ ”

 Loki gave a feeble laugh, then grimaced as his lungs protested, flooded with stabbing, fiery pain. 

 “You were poisoned, you oaf. I did the only thing I could.” He could already feel his magic eating away at the poison, but it was weak, exhausted. His vision began to swim, bleeding away at the corners, Thor’s face, contorted with grief, the only thing still clearly in focus. 

 “No, Loki.” Thor’s voice was raw and trembling. “I have just lost mother. I cannot - I _will_ not - lose you too.” 

 Loki smiled, and tried to raise his hand to Thor’s face, but his limbs felt leaden, and the motioned seemed infinitely difficult. His vision flickered, darkened.

 “Do not worry, brother, I will be fine.” Loki blinked heavily, his throat swollen and dry, and struggled to force out the words. “I need… I need only…” He could not finish, for his tongue, numb and heavy failed him, and his eyes slipped closed over burning, unseeing eyes. The last thing he heard was Thor screaming his name, and then all was gone, and Loki floated away into the blackness. 


	2. talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Jane arrive on earth, with Loki in tow. How will their friends react to Loki's presence?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The redone chapter two, coming sooner than I expected. Now that I have dusted off this old story, I'm really getting back into it. There's a good chance I'll be done with the revisions by the end of the week.
> 
> Very little Loki in this one, but fear not, he will be back!

Thor woke to the sight of his younger brother hunched over him, eyes closed and face drawn in concentration. He instantly felt the tingle of magic, as well as the raw itching of the newly healed wound in his stomach. But he also felt a dull fire burning through his veins, the magic slowly leeching it from his body. 

 “Loki,” he spoke, voice weak and shaking. “What are you doing.?”

 Loki raised his head and met Thor’s eyes, his mouth stretching into a gruesome attempt at a smile. His face was greyed and exhausted, and his eyes flashed with pain. When he spoke, his voice was strained and short. 

 “I am saving you, you fool.”

 Thor scanned his body, looking for some sign of the injury that was causing Loki so much pain, and could find nothing. The strange leeching feeling continued, and Loki hunched farther down, letting out a pained gasp as the pain coursing through Thor’s veins continued to diminish. It clicked, and Thor struggled to sit, to stop his little brother from killing himself to save Thor’s sorry hide. 

 “Loki,” he began.  “No-”

 But Loki’s face only hardened into a look of extreme concentration, and he pressed his hands more firmly to Thor’s stomach. There was a sudden surge of magic, and Thor felt Loki rip the last of the fire from his veins, before he collapsed forward across Thor, shaking and gasping for air. Thor, health and strength returned, quickly rolled his brother’s body off to lie in the sand, hoping that he might breathe easier. 

 “Loki,” he growled. “What did you _do?_ ”

 Loki made a feeble sound that may have been meant as a laugh, but soon turned to a horrifying gurgling cough, as his own lungs betrayed him. When he could breath again, he spoke. 

 “You were poisoned, you oaf. I did the only thing I could.” His eyes began to gloss over, and Thor felt panic clawing at his heart. 

 “No Loki.” Thor felt tears beginning to threaten, blurring the edges of his vision. “I have just lost mother. I cannot - I _will_ not - lose you too.”

 Loki smiled, weak and unfocused. His body twitched, as if trying to move but to weak or heavy to do so. 

 “Do not worry, brother. I will be fine.” He paused, the silence dragging heavily against Thor’s ears. Loki opened his mouth, tried to speak. “I need… I need only…” He trailed off, his eyes lost their focus, and his lids fluttered shut. 

 “Loki,” Thor demanded, shaking him, desperate for some response. “LOKI!”

 He felt Jane approaching, hesitantly setting a hand on his shoulder. 

 "Is he… is he dead?” Her voice was filled with grief, and Thor was strangely touched. She had no obligation to feel anything but rage and hurt towards his brother, and so the compassion in her voice was unexpected, and warmed his breaking heart. 

 Thor glanced towards Loki’s chest, which rose and fell fitfully with shallow breaths. The panic gripping his heart loosened a touch, though it still lingered spitefully. He breathed deeply.

 “No, he is alive. But only just.” Looking up, he saw the fast approaching storm, and moved to gather Loki into his arms. “Quickly Jane, we must find shelter.”

 Thor stood and gathered Loki to his chest, distressed at how easy the task was. Loki’s time in prison and left his usually slim frame teetering on the edge of gauntness, and it pained Thor to see how light and fragile his brother appeared in his arms. 

Jane nodded, and struggled to her feet, following Thor as he made his way to the nearby rock face, struggling against the increasingly powerful winds. They reached the rocks, and after several minutes of travelling along the cliffside found an entrance, and slipped into the protection of a cave. Wordlessly, they followed the cave deeper and deeper, as far as they could from the howling winds and swirling sands outside, until they came to what seemed to be its end. Thor carefully set Loki upon a shallow ledge, and Jane seated herself on an adjacent boulder. There was a long silence. 

 “He’s going to unleash it.” It was Jane who broke the silence, sounding shocked and scared and hopeless. “Not just on Asgard or on a star. Malekith is going to destroy everything.”

 Thor looked at her, taking in the way her frame drooped with weariness and defeat. She was beautiful, even then, dirty and torn in the dimness of the cave. He could see her strength was failing, but still she stood strong, despite her mortality, despite the unimaginable strength of their enemies, and in that moment Thor fell in love with her all over again. 

 “How?” He asked quietly. When there is no response, he questions again, with more force. “Jane, how?”

 “I saw him on earth. Why would he go to earth?”

 “The convergence.” Thor stated it with dreadful finality. There was no other reason that Malekith would go to earth other than to be in the optimal place to take advantage of the convergence to spread his darkness over all the nine realms. 

 “Oh, god.” Jane’s shoulders slumped lower. “None of this would happen if i hadn’t found the Aether. 

 Thor shook his head, took a step towards her. “Then Malekith would have only posessed it that much sooner.”

 Jane looked up as he approached, and there was something desperate in her eyes. “I only found it because I was looking for you.”

 Thor’s heart broke a little, because what had he ever done to deserve this woman?

 “Jane…” He trailed off, unsure of what to say. 

 “Now we’re trapped here, and your brother - “

 She was interrupted by music, loud, jarring, and alien to Thor’s ears. They shared a glance, confusion passing between them. 

 “It’s not me.” Thor stated, bewildered.

 Still holding eye contact, Jane reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone, a look of disbelief crossing her face. She quickly answered the call.

 “Hello?”

 A second later, she jumped to her feet, walking quickly towards the back of the cave as she held the phone aloft, a look of awe on her face.

 “Richard? Where are you?”

 Thor watched a moment as she continues to talk to Richard, whoever that is, pacing the back of the cave and gesticulating in excitement. He quickly lost the flow of the conversation, and turned back to Loki, taking in his appearance with a growing sense of dread. He was pale to the point of greyness, and the rising of his chest with each breath was so slow and so shallow that Thor was not certain he really breathed at all. Something constricted in his throat, and he felt the hotness of tears pricking at his eyes. Everything was falling apart.

 But then Jane was grabbing at his hands. “Come on, get Loki.” She tilted her head towards him, hone still held to her ears. Thor hastened to do as directed, scooping up his brother and following Jane as she headed to the back of the cave, stooping to pick something up as she goes. Thor had only a brief moment to wonder what she was doing, before they had stepped through a tear between worlds and into the abandoned warehouse where this had all began, only a few days before. 

 They exited the warehouse, hastening their steps as they saw Jane’s car, parked exactly where she had left it, though rather worse for wear. The windows had all been smashed, and Jane took care to clear the backseat of any glass shards before Thor set his brother down. They climbed into the front seat, and with a grumble the car started. 

 As the car skidded backwards out of its parking spot, Thor could not help but ask. “Who is Richard?”

 Jane shot him a glare. “Really?”

 The moment of levity lasted for only a brief few minutes, and the rest of the ride to the apartment where Jane had been staying was tense with worry. It seemed an eon before Jane pulled the car to the side of the road and climbed out, offering a simple “We’re here.”

 Thor exited the car as well, and extracted Loki from the back seat. Jane shot him a tight smile, and led the way to the front door.

 Then they entered, there was an excited cry of “Jane!” and then silence fell as Thor entered behind her, and they took in the sight of the god of lies huddled in his arms. Thor stopped, unsure of how to proceed, and Jane seemed equally at a loss. Everyone in the room knew who Loki was, he had hurt them all, some more severely than others, and Thor did not know how he could apologize, or attempt to make things right between them. Especially now that Loki was hurting, and all Thor wanted was a place for him to rest and recover, if he would even be able to.

 Eventually it was Erik who broke the silence, voice quiet and measured, but trembling ever so slightly. 

 “What is he doing here?”

 Thor swallowed and stepped forward. “I am sorry, friend Erik, I know that my brother has hurt you, and I would not bring him here if I had any other choice, but he is hurt, and he needs a place to heal.”

 Darcy eyed Loki distrustfully. “How’d he get hurt?”

 Thor met her gaze steadily, a challenge in his eyes. “I was poisoned. Loki drew that poison into himself in order to save my life.”

There was more silence, and the Erik spoke once more. “There’s a guest bedroom down the hall. You can put him there.” His tone was gruff and wary, but there was also a level of acceptance in his eyes. 

 Thor bowed his head. “Thank you.”

 As soon as he had left the room, Darcy, Erik, and Ian swarmed Jane, pestering her with a deluge of questions.

 “Where have you been?”

 “What happened?”

 “Why is Loki with you?”

 “Who were you fighting?”

 “Guys - GUYS!!”  Jane’s voice rang out over theirs, and they quickly fell quiet. She took a deep breath. “Can I get a minute to change, and calm down? I promise we’ll tell you everything, but I just need a few minutes to myself first. It’s been.. It’s been a really long day.”

 Her friends looked suitably chastened, and reluctantly stepped back. 

 “Of course, Jane,” reassured Erik, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “It’s just been a shock is all.”

 “I get it, trust me.” Jane returned his half hug with one of her own, and then made towards the door to her room. After a few steps, she paused. 

 “Erik, where are your pants?”

Half an hour later, Jane had taken a shower and changed her clothes, Loki had been settled in, and the group re-congregated in the living room. 

 It was Ian who spoke first, tentatively questioning. “Isn’t that the guy who attacked New York?”

 Thor nodded. “Yes. He is my brother, Loki. He was… greatly wronged, two years ago, and he has not been himself since. I fear that I played a rather large part in driving him to where he is now…”

 The others’ interests were piqued, and Thor continued his story. Their questions drove him further down the tale of his and Loki’s story, and before he knew it he was recounting all that had transpired during the two years after that fateful trip to Jotunheim, culminating in the fight just before he and Jane had arrived with Loki at the apartment. As he spoke, Thor realised that he had never told anyone the full tale, and it was a tremendous relief to lift its weight from his chest. His audience was captivated, even Jane, who knew more of the tale than most. Their talk lasted late into the night, and when Thor’s story was done, they all headed to bed, but it was a time before any of them slept. Their heads were to full to rest easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a comment! I love to get feedback so I can improve my work.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, and please drop a comment! I love hearing feedback on my work, and I hope to have some more for you very soon!


End file.
